Konya Hotels

KONYA (Iconium) Konya is a city in Central Anatolia in Turkey which has protected its name for centuries. Legend says that Perseus killed a dragon that had been ravaging the town. The people set up a special monument to honor him, a stone obelisk with an icon of Perseus carved in it. This event gave the city it's name, Ikonyon, Ikonyum, Iconium. However, among Muslims, another legend is told. Two dervishes, friends of Allah, were making an excursion through the skies from the far away countries of Horasan toward the west... When they flew over the lands of central Anatolia, one asked the other, "Shall I land?" ("Konayim mi?"). The other answered, "Sure, land." ("Kon ya!") So, they landed and founded the city of Konya. Archaeology shows that the Konya region is one of the most ancient settlements of Anatolia. The results of excavations in Catalhöyük, Karahöyük, Cukurkent and Kucukkoy show the region was inhabited as far back as the Neolithic Period (Late Stone Age) of BC 7000. Other settlers of the city before Islam were; the Calcolitic Period (Copper Age) civilizations, Bronze Age civilizations, Hittites, Frigians, Lidians, Persians, Romans and finally Byzantines. Konya is an important place for Christians as well because St. Paul and St. Barnabas came to the city on one

Konya Hotels - Konya Travel - About Konya

My Words About Konya For Tourists

Hi to all Konya lovers and Konya visitors.

I said lovers because Konya is amazing city.When you take a walk at Konya first time breath

deeply you will understand that Konya is different city.Everything at Konya is different.Konya

is the first city of the world.Konya is city till -7301 so Konya is 9310 years old.

Konya has a popular people like Mevlana Celaleddin Rumi,Konevi,Sems Tebrizi etc.The biggest one

of course Mevlana Celaleddin Rumi.2007 was the year of Mevlana.Mevlana is popular in all of the

world.Come to Konya i can say that your first word will be wow it is wonderful.

Konya City Guide - Konya Hotels

Konya City Guide - Konya Travel and Konya Hotels

"Iconium" of the Roman times is 263 kms from Ankara. The land is a wide plateau and has been continuously inhabited even extending back to the 8th millenium BC.

Catalhoyuk is an ancient city of that period which is considered to be one of the first settlement areas in the world accommodating one of the earliest human communities. Made up of mud houses, which were entered through holes in the roofs, this site is a real place of interest where you can feel the life prevailing, many years ago. The finds from the district, including the cult figures of the famous temple and the mother goddess, together with old frescoes, are now on display in the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations in Ankara.

In the environs of Konya, there also exist sites which hold some remains from the Hittites. Ivriz is one, 168 kms east of Konya, which is one of the finest neo-Hittite reliefs in the country, representing a king and the fertility god of the time. Eflatun Pinar is another important sight, which is a monument fountain from the time of the Hittites, constituting a holy place of the period.

When the Byzantines came into power, Konya became an independent province and was given the name "Lycanoia." A Byzantine church and several rock chapels filled with beautiful frescoes can be seen in the town of Sille, 8 kms northwest of Konya, where the first rock carved monasteries of the world were built.

During the 12th and 13th centuries, the city acted as the capital of the Seljuk Turks and advanced rapidly to become a great cultural center.

The most famous building here is the Green Mausoleum of Mevlana Celaleddin Rumi, the great Turkish philosopher and poet. He is the founder of the sect of Whirling Dervishes, the seminary that was attached to the mausoleum. It has been converted into a museum housing Mevlana's works, and accoutrements related to his sect. Every year in December, ceremonies are held in Konya or the commemoration of Mevlana and the Whirling Dervishes. In this Dervish Festival, the "Sema" dance is performed by men dressed in white robes, whirling and rotating around the floor. This dance, in which the dancer with the great love of God is believed to attain divine unity, is an event well worth seeing.

On Alaeddin Hill in this region is the Alaeddin mosque and palace, which are fine 13th century monuments built during the reign of the famous Seljuk Sultan Alaeddin Keykubat.

Karatay Medresse, constructed in 1251, stands to the north of this hill, and is now a museum which holds the best examples of Seljuk tiles and ceramics. The Ince Minareli Medresse with its fascinating monumental portal, the Sircali Medresse, and the Iplikci Mosque are other Seljuk works in the city.

Beysehir, 94 kms west of Konya, was founded on the shores of Lake Beysehir, the third largest lake in the country. There are the attractive Seljuk monuments of Esrefoglu Mosque and its medresse and the Kubad-Abad Summer Palace.

Of particular interest is the town of Aksehir with its remains from the 13th century, the Ulu Mosque, the Sahip Ata Mausoleum and the Altinkale Mescid. This land, 130 km northwest of Konya, is the birthplace of the famous Turkish humorist Nasreddin Hoca, whose mausoleum is here.

The various museums, comprising rich collections of historical finds, are other interesting sights in Konya. Especially of interest is the Archaeological Museum which should be visited for its charming pieces, including the Sidemara Sarcophagus. The Koyunoglu Museum, with the Izzettin Koyunoglu House inside it, constitutes a beautiful complex; the Ethnographical Museum and Ataturk's House are also at the service of history lovers.

About Konya

All About Konya - Konya Hotels and Konya Travel

Konya is a city in Central Anatolia in Turkey which has protected its name for centuries. Legend says that Perseus killed a dragon that had been ravaging the town. The people set up a special monument to honor him, a stone obelisk with an icon of Perseus carved in it. This event gave the city it's name, Ikonyon, Ikonyum, Iconium.

However, among Muslims, another legend is told. Two dervishes, friends of Allah, were making an excursion through the skies from the far away countries of Horasan toward the west. When they flew over the lands of central Anatolia, one asked the other, "Shall I land?" ("Konayim mi?"). The other answered, "Sure, land." ("Kon ya!") So, they landed and founded the city of Konya.

Archaeology shows that the Konya region is one of the most ancient settlements of Anatolia. The results of excavations in Catalhöyük, Karahöyük, Cukurkent and Kucukoy show the region was inhabited as far back as the Neolithic Period (Late Stone Age) of BC 7000. Other settlers of the city before Islam were; the Calcolitic Period (Copper Age) civilizations, Bronze Age civilizations, Hittites, Frigians, Lidians, Persians, Romans and finally Byzantines.

Konya is an important place for Christians as well because St. Paul and St. Barnabas came to the city on one of their journeys in Asia Minor around 50 AD. St. Paul preached in Konya but they angered both Jews and Gentiles so they had to leave the city and went to Derbe and Lystra.

The first exposure of the city to Islam happened during the time of the Caliph Muaviya. Later, attacks made by Arabic Muslims, whether Emevi's or Abbasi's, yielded no results. Konya's real meeting with and adopting of Islam began some time after the victory of Seljuks at Malazgirt in 1071, in the time of Kutalmisoglu Suleyman. The attacks of the Crusaders from 1076 to the end of the 12th century could not wrench the city from Islam.

Konya was the capital of Seljuks between 1071 and 1308. In 1220 Alaaddin Keykubad I repaired the city wall and decorated them with towers. But the city has been the site of a power - struggle between the Seljuks, Karamanoglu's, Mongols, and Ilhan's and it changed hands a few times. In the time of Fatih Sultan Mehmet, in 1466, Konya joined the lands of the Ottoman Empire. The first general census was made by the sultan and repeated in the time of Bayazit II, Kanuni Sultan Suleyman, and Murad III.

In the time of Kanuni Suleyman, the city, which had been named as Karaman ili, reached the status of statehood. The borders of the Karaman state, which included the regions of Larende (Karaman), Seydisehri, Beysehri, Nigde, Kayseri (Cesarea), Aksaray, Maras, Elbistan, and Bozok, were reduced when Maras became its own state and Bozok was added to another state.

Konya was affected by the Celali Rebellion. This rebellion was an outcome of the instability in the Ottoman government and land orders in the Ottoman army was defeated by the command of Ibrahim Pasa, Grand Vizir of Sultan Suleyman, in the Battle of Konya.

The borders of the province of Konya, which was set up in 1867, included Nigde, Isparta, Icel and Teke Sanjaks. In the same year, the city was affected by a big fire and in 1873 suffered a serious famine.

In the 19th century the city appeared shabby and neglected and the city walls were in ruins and even the mosques were in terrible conditions. Many of the more recent houses were made of bricks and their lifespan was not more than 100-150 years. Commercial activity was slow. But at the end of the century, in 1896, after the railway to Eskisehir was opened, commercial activity was revived. After 1902, farming with machines developed. The period of sultan Abdul Hamid II was a productive one for Konya. Transport, education and restoration works flourished the city as they did in the whole of the country.

The First World War caused the decrease of manpower in Konya and throughout the country. During the occupation of Anatolia by the Allies, Konya's railway station was run by the British (January 1919). The Italian powers which occupied the city in April 1919, left the city in March 1920 during the Independence War led by Atatürk.

The most important place to visit in Konya is Mevlana's Mausoleum, the mystic poet on the way of sufism and the founder of the Whirling Dervish order. Apart from that there is Karatay Medrese, which was a theological school used as tiles museum today, Alaaddin Keykubat Mosque from 12th century and Ince Minare (Thin Minaret) Mosque.

About Konya - Konya Hotels

İnformation About The Beautiful City Konya - Konya Hotels

Settled life in and around Konya starts from the prehistoric period. Within this period we can see the cultures of Neolithic Calcolithic and early Bronze Era.
Höyükler, which are the inhabitancy areas of this period, are within the borders of Konya. The findings belonging to the Neolithic Period (7000-5500 BC) came out through the archeological excavations in Çatalhöyük.

In Karahöyük, which is within one of the regions of Konya today, inhabitancy of the Hittite is seen. The archeological excavations that have been carried out for many years give us findings that reflect this period.

Frigs who gave an end to the sovereignty of Hittite on Anatolia are the sects who have emigrated from Thrace to Anatolia. (The findings that were got from Alaaddin Hill, Karapinar, Gicikisla and Sizma belong to the seventh century BC). After the Frigians (Phrygians) Konya (Kavania) was invaded by Lydians and Iskender. Later on when the sovereignty of Rome was set Konya kept its existence as Ikonium (25 B.C.).

St. Paul Antiochia, one of the Christian saints who went up from Antalya to Anatolia, then came to Ikonium (Konya). At this period Hatunsaray Lystra-Derbe, Leodica and Sille were important settlement areas of Byzantines. With the spread of Islam in Anatolia Arabian raids started. The Ommayads and Abbasids raided over Konya.

After the Malazgirt war in 1071, as well as a large part of Anatolia, Konya was taken from Byzantines by Seljuks.

The Sultan of Anatolian Seljuks, Suleyman Shah, declared Konya as the capital city in 1076. In 1080 the capital city was transferred to Iznik, Kilic Aslan I carried the capital city to Konya in 1097. Konya, from 1097 to 1277, was capital city of Anatolian Seljuks.

Having been conquered by Kamanid Mehmed Bey, Konya went under the sovereignty of Karamanids. By conquering Konya Murad II one of the Ottoman sultans, gave an end to the sovereignty of Karamanians on Konya in 1442.

Konya continued its reputation and esteem during the Ottoman period. One of the Ottoman Sultans, Yavuz Sultan Selim, stayed in Konya during his campaigns to Iran and Egypt. Kanuni Sultan Süleyman stayed in Konya during his campaign to Iran and Murad IV during his campaign to Baghdad.

During the Republic Period, Konya became the largest province of the country. In spite of the fact that the city of Karaman which includes the districts of Ayranci, Ermenek, and Kazımkarabekir was separated from Konya with a law put forth in 1989, the city kept this special feature.

Konya, which is a neighbor city of Ankara, Niğde, Aksaray, Icel, Antalya, Isparta, Afyon, Eskisehir and Karaman on the central Anatolia High plateau of 39,000 km2, occupies a place between 36 - 22' and 39-08' northern parallels and 31-14' and 34-05' Eastern meridians. Its traffic code is 42, Municipality of Konya founded in 1876 achieved the status of being major city according to the law numbered 3030 that was put forth in 1984. Since 1989 municipality services have been carried out according to this status.

According to the census done in 1990, the total population of Karatay district to which two sub districts and twenty nine villages are connected, is 169,000 and its central population is 142,678.

The total population of Meram district to which three sub districts and thirty five villages are connected, is 213,644 and its central population is 182,444.

The total population of Selçuk district which has two sub districts and twenty nine villages is 202,154 and its central population is 188,244. According to the census done in 1980 the total population of Konya is 1,750,303 and it is the fifth city after Istanbul, Ankara, İzmir and Adana.

Alaeddin Hill is a tumulus which hides relies of 400 years under it. Once upon a time, it attracted attention not as an area of settlement but as an area where the richness of history, culture and nature were protected and a place where people’s needs of having a rest were met. In the north of the hill Alaeddin Mosque has the pleasure of meeting its people after efforts of restoration that lasted for many years.

The mausoleum that has the sarcophagus of eight Seljuk Sultans, first and fore most Alaeddin Keykubat’s, is in the courtyard of the mosque. If you stand on the eastern part of the hill, next to the Monument of Martyrs you will see the Mevlana Dervish Convent with its green, eye-catching dome at the end of the dual carriage way lying in front of you. You can also see the minarets of Sultan Selim Mosque which was built by one of the Ottoman Sultans, Selim II, on the right side of Mevlana Dervish Convent which has been used as a museum since 1926.

The tram which is a cheap and clean vehicle of public transportation carried its 65,000 passengers with its railway wagon that made 300 trips from 06:00 till 24:00 on a route of 10,5 km. With the rise of wagons to 41, trips to 450, the length of the route to 18,5 km, the passenger capacity has increased to 120,000.

Konya, with its historical works, is a city that seems like an open-air museum.